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thối

Level ≈B2 (approx.) adjectiveverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 5,000 most common
Hanoi [tʰoj˧˦]Huế [tʰoj˨˩˦]Saigon [tʰoj˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones
thốirisingsắc

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

thối means fetid; putrid; stinking.

Chinese characters: 退

Meanings of thối in English

Adjective

  1. Northern Vietnam fetid, putrid, stinking, foul-smelling (with the smell of a decomposing body, of rotting food, especially rotting fruit, or of dung)
    • thối như cóc chếtas stinky as a dead toad
  2. Northern Vietnam rotten ≈ hưung
  3. Northern Vietnam, of a bomb unexploded ≈ hỏnghưhư hỏng

Verb

  1. Northern Vietnam to stink
  2. Northern Vietnam to decompose, to rot
    • Trứng thối.The eggs are rotting / have rotten.
    • Cây cối ngập nước thối hết.The vegetation became submerged in water and completely rotted.
  3. Northern Vietnam, of a bomb to be a dud, to refuse to explode ≈ hỏng

Verb

  1. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam to retreat ≈ thoái
    • lúc tiến lúc thốiat times advancing, at times retreating
  2. Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam to repay; to give back change (to a customer)
    • thối tiền cho kháchto repay the customer
    • Không có tiền lẻ để thối lại.(I) don't have change to give back.

Words with thối

ngón tay thốithối nãothối nát

Synonyms and antonyms of thối

Antonyms

thơmthơm lừngthơm ngátthơm phứcthơm thonổtiến

Example sentences with thối

  • Một nửa số quả táo đã bị thối. Half of these apples are rotten.
  • Xác chết bị thối rữa. The dead body has decayed.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, thối could be written as 褪, 𦤮, 𠺙, 退. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *tʰuːlʔ (“rotten”). This is the Northern form with typical Northern lowering of *-uː-, with the Central and Southern dialects from Southern Thanh Hoá southwards preserved the vowel unlowered.

Frequently asked questions

What does thối mean in English?

thối (adjective) means "fetid; putrid; stinking".

How do you pronounce thối?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰoj˧˦]; Saigon [tʰoj˦˥]. Tones: thối — rising tone (sắc).

Is thối a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. thối is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 退.

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.